Ukrainian Zhuravlyov, suspected of the “Nord Stream” blowing up, taken into custody in Croatia

In Croatia, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, whom German investigators suspect of undermining the “Nord Stream” pipeline, was taken into custody.

Index writes about this.

The man was brought to the district court today after being questioned by the district prosecutorʼs office. Zhuravlyov was recommended to choose a preventive measure in the form of imprisonment in order to be extradited to Germany. His Croatian lawyer Matija Miloš said they will appeal the decision.

On August 19, German prosecutors detained a Ukrainian in Croatia and charged him with conspiracy to commit an explosion, unconstitutional sabotage, and destruction of structures.

According to the German investigation, he was one of the divers who planted explosives on the “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2” gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in 2022. After being extradited from Croatia, Zhuravlyov is to be brought to the Federal Court of Germany.

This is the third attempt by German investigators to detain him. In 2024, they tried to arrest Zhuravlyov in Poland, but he managed to leave for Ukraine. And in the fall of 2025, the Polish police did detain Zhuravlyov, but then the court refused to extradite him to Germany.

“Nord Stream” explosions

On September 26, 2022, three explosions occurred on the “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2” pipelines, which run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks. Only one of the four strands of the pipeline remained intact.

On August 26, 2025, German investigators issued arrest warrants for six Ukrainians suspected of involvement in the bombing. The main suspect in the case is Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, believed to be the commander of the group that blew up the gas pipelines. He denies the charges.

In August 2025, Kuznetsov was detained in Italy, and in November he was extradited to Germany and arrested there. On July 1, 2026, German prosecutors officially indicted Kuznetsov, and he is scheduled to stand trial in Hamburg, Germany, at the end of October.

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